


Part 2: Evil Sands

by Rudy_Ska



Series: The Triforce of Power Book 1: The Man [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: F/M, Original Character Death(s), Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-09 16:28:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7808923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rudy_Ska/pseuds/Rudy_Ska
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ganondorf returns to find his home... just the way he left it. Or is it? Continued from Part 1, Part 2 will dive into Ganondorf's relationship with Nabooru and how he finally became the Gerudo King.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The King Returns

Noon was the worst time for a fight. When the sun was at its peak and the ground at its hottest, fights lead to heat stroke and dehydration. Nabooru knew this but still accepted Nisha’s challenge. Nisha had said that Nabooru was only appointed to lieutenant because her mother was a general. Nabooru responded to such an accusation by simply stating that if Nisha believed she was unfit for the leadership role then she could challenge her authority at any time. The altercation, of course, was much less polite. It would’ve been a simple fight if not for one condition.

Nabooru said she’d do it all with one hand tied behind her back, which was exactly where here right arm was pinned with rope.

In hindsight, she should’ve kept her mouth shut. It was bad enough that she got angry at a private, but issuing herself that challenge was just stupid. She still would’ve had to accept the contest or risk losing rank and respect, but she would still have her right arm for the fight.

The area that the Gerudo met at for these kind of occasions was little more than a section of the training grounds sanctioned off by a fading white line. There were no structures inside the arena, no barrels of water, and any weapons or equipment of any kind was strictly forbidden. Just your honor, your skill, and your two fists, or in Nabooru’s case one fist, between you and your opponent. In Gerudo culture, this is the purest and most honorable way to settle disputes. Though the honor of this particular fight was questionable due to Nabooru’s handicap. But even with her dominant hand out of use, Nabooru was still a force to be reckoned with.

Nisha kept her lieutenant at a distance but held her hands up in case Nabooru decided to rush her. Nabooru held her one free arm in front of her as if she was ready to arm wrestle. This allowed her to compensate for her defenseless right side while still maintaining a somewhat offensive stance. The two women crossed their legs in front and behind their own as they circled each other, carefully sizing the other up. Nabooru, being disabled as she was, surmised that she would need to play this fight more defensively than she would’ve liked. This meant more dodging instead of blocking which was not Nabooru’s preferred style. She favored a style that brought her up close and personal with her opponent; blocking attacks to frustrate and tire her attacker before the takedown. She called it being “Offensively Defensive” and it won her many a fight. In her current state, however, that wouldn’t be possible.

And Nisha knew it. So, before she could take advantage of the situation, Nabooru attacked first with a high kick aimed for Nisha’s shoulder. She had no trouble dodging the attack and followed up with a flurry of her own. Nabooru was forced to backpedal as she dodged most attacks and blocked the ones she couldn’t. Nisha’s early advantage was just Nabooru’s tactic to bide her time until Nisha made a mistake. However, Nisha was only second to Nabooru when it came to hand-to-hand combat and rarely made mistakes. Her combinations were fierce and her style was formulated with multiple trainers’ influence which gave her moves a slight unpredictability that had a chance to surprise an enemy. Nabooru would know, she trained her herself at one point. The girl was quite gifted when it came to picking up and executing techniques she was shown but lacked the creativity to formulate her own combos and new moves that utilized multiple techniques. Even now, while in the heat of battle, Nabooru evaluated the moves used against her. The most notable were Nisha’s drop-kicks which were a perfect mirror of her own.

With each failed or blocked hit, Nisha became more and more frustrated. Finally, at the end of her latest combo, Nisha threw a high kick that Nabooru easily ducked under, but the kick was a fake out. She must’ve thought that she had caught the lieutenant off guard as she quickly followed up with a fully powered low knee thrust aimed to split Nabooru’s nose bridge. But her attack was a fraction of a second too late and Nabooru threw her head up and out of the way just before her face received a new mark. Nisha threw a lot of power into that last attack and her knee sailed past Nabooru, leaving her wide open. Nabooru, seeing her opportunity, kicked Nisha’s leg away to spin her around. Nisha used the unexpected momentum to flow into a roundhouse kick. Nabooru ducked again and immediately went into a shoulder thrust that connected with Nisha’s sternum. Nabooru learned the move from Ganondorf who had used it on her many times when they used to spar. The blow sent Nisha staggering back and, while Nabooru only suffered a mildly sore shoulder, Nisha was shocked by the sudden bold attack.

Having gotten the first successful hit, Nabooru was understandably cocky so she smirked at the recovering Nisha. She was less than amused. In fact, she was so offended that she came running full speed towards Nabooru uttering a rage-filled war cry.

_Stupid mistake_ Nabooru thought. The lieutenant stood up straight and patiently waited for Nisha to lose her charged attack. Nisha came near and unleashed a punch that would’ve seriously hurt Nabooru if she weren’t ready. But she was ready, and added a sweeping kick to her low dodge. Nabooru’s leg caught Nisha’s foot and caused her to trip. As Nisha began to fall forward, Nabooru caught her opponent by the chest and pushed her backwards. Nisha’s feet flew out from under her and Nabooru’s backwards force became a downwards one. She plummeted down to the ground and made a loud and painful sounding thump when she hit the stone floor. Nisha had hit the earth with such an incredible impact that the air rushed from her lungs, forcing her to gasp for breath. Nabooru stood and undid the knot behind her back that held her arm with her free hand. The ropes loosened and fell right in front of Nisha’s face.

“I am lieutenant because of my skill, not my connections. Do you understand?”

Nisha was too busy trying to force air into her lungs to answer.

“Good!” Nabooru resolutely said after a few conformational sounding gasps, “As punishment for your disrespect, you will run double laps tomorrow as well as meet up with me later that day to go over your technique. This is a learning experience, not a defeat. Any questions?”

“No.” Nisha croaked with some difficulty.

“No… what?”

Nisha rolled to her knees and bowed her head respectfully, “No, Lieutenant Nabooru.”

“Good. Go inside and rest if you need it, under my orders if you’re questioned.”

Nisha cleared her throat, “Thank you ma’am.”

Nabooru turned away and walked towards the edge of the arena where people were already filing away from the fight faster than usual. Some even seemed to be running with concerned words floating from person to person. Nabooru quickened her pace and grabbed the first girl she came to. It was Indira.

“Indira!” Nabooru grabbed the woman’s shoulder before she could follow the crowd, startling her a bit, “What’s happening? Where’s everyone going in such a rush?”

“The gatekeeper has sent word that there is someone coming from the desert. They’re saying it’s Ganondorf!”

Nabooru’s eyes went wide at his name, “G-Ganondorf?” she whispered.

“After so many years, I doubt it’s him. I mean, how can someone survive in the- Ow, hey!”

Nabooru shoved past Indira and made a full sprint towards the desert gate. She pushed and shoved sister after sister out of the way until she came to her familiar rock. She nimbly jumped onto the top of it and was treated to a full view of the front gate as it was slowly raised.

 

……………………………………………….

 

Ganondorf was slightly annoyed at his two adoptive mothers. When he had trekked out into the desert four years ago, it had taken him several weeks to reach their temple oasis. The trip back, however, took the boy only two days before he spotted the large gate and surrounding mountains. This meant that either he was extremely lost in the desert those four years ago, or the twins messed with his perception and hid the structures from him.

But given a choice between the two, he still would’ve gone with the twins, so it didn’t pay to hold a grudge against them. They had helped him gain control over his powers and he was overly thankful for that. In truth, he didn’t really want to leave them. He had food and shelter in the temple and there was no guarantee that he would be welcomed back at the compound with open arms. He could’ve learned so much more about magic and how to use it if he stayed.

But then, there was _her_.

She was the reason for most of his decisions along this journey. He left for her, trained for her, and now he would return for her. Of course he had a mother to comfort, a people to lead, and dozens of sisters to go back to, but there was one special person who he longed to see again. He longed to see her slender figure, her caring smile, and could even smell her perfume. The smell of-

“Halt!” an angry woman’s voice rang out, “Who goes there?”

Ganondorf, reeling from being ripped from his trance, looked up at the tower beside the gate that the somewhat familiar voice came from. The sun was high up in the sky and looking up at the tower only allowed him to see the bright silhouette of a gatekeeper. He tried to remember who’s voice he was hearing but wasn’t entirely sure.

“I say again, who goes there?”

“Hail! Malati, is that you? How long are you going to be gatekeeper?”

“Malati?” the woman replied incredulously, “Malati hasn’t been gatekeeper for over two years! Wait, I mean-” the woman recomposed herself, “Who goes there?!”

Then the name hit him like a ton of bricks, “Esha!? Esha, you’re gatekeeper now? Congratulations, I didn’t know you wanted to-”

“Last warning, who goes-”

“Esha, it’s me, Ganondorf! Do you not have eyes on your head?”

Then it was silent for a while. Ganondorf could hear slight whispering from the stone tower but was too far away to hear. Not only that, but there seemed to be a fight going on inside the compound that had the entire tribe in a cheering uproar. He was just about to manipulate the air to allow him to hear their conversation, but Esha spoke out to him just before he could.

“How do I know it’s really you, Ganondorf?”

“Who else could possibly be roaming around in the desert?”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“Well then, come down and see for yourself!”

“I have a better idea. How about you tell me something that only Ganondorf would know.”

“Would that prove that I am who I say I am?”

“A detailed explanation of how you survived four years in the desert would be better, but it will suffice for now.”

Ganondorf sighed, “Alright… umm… Oh, I got one! Esha, you remember when we were little? When we were just trainees? I remember that you wet your bunk one day because you had a nightmare that a leever had come out your-”

“ _OK!_ Ok, fine, I believe you! Goddess, I’ll never be rid of that shit.”

“Language Esh.” Ganondorf said in a mockingly chastising tone.

“I’m older than you!”

“By one year.”

“And a half! You never remember the half! Ugh, you’d think four years would change a person.”

Ganondorf snickered as he walked up to the gate. It took a while but the metal barrier finally started to rise after a moment of awkward silence. When the gate rose above his head, Ganondorf was treated to the most amazing sight he had ever seen. Standing on the edge of the courtyard, on the ridge of the outward leading road, was the entirety of the Gerudo people. It seemed that news of his return had spread fast making the compound clear out, the guards leave their posts, and even some of the pregnant were out to see the prince return to the valley. He walked a bit forward away from the gate and tried to see everyone’s faces, but the sun was directly overhead and making everything a pain to look at. All he could tell was that there was a stunned silence about them and nobody dared to move a muscle.

Then one single person moved. She was standing atop a large rock that overlooked the gate’s path. She slid down the face of the boulder and sprinted at Ganondorf. When he caught a glimpse of her face he could see tears streaming down her cheeks and, yet, a broad smile with joy dancing in her eyes. He only had a few seconds to brace himself before the girl’s full weight slammed into him and her arms locked onto his neck with suffocating strength. He reeled back a bit from the impact but rebounded with an embrace of his own. He wrapped his muscular arms around her, enveloping the girl… no, the woman, in his happiness.

“Nabooru.” was all he could say.

For four years he had avoided her name. For four years he had forced himself to put her out of his mind for the sake of his training. Now, after four years, just saying her name was like a weight lifted off his shoulders. Like the final confession to a terrible betrayal. They may have been standing in their embrace for a few seconds, but those seconds were as precious as jewels and as endless as time itself. Ganondorf finally realized how much he had missed the smell of the honey perfume on her desert-burnt skin.

Nabooru wiped her tears on his shoulder and sniffed a little, “I… I waited for you. Every day, I waited.”

“I thought I told you not to wait for me.”

He felt her smile, “You know I don’t follow orders very well.”

Ganondorf couldn’t help but smile as well. But then there was a small rumble in the ground followed by the distant screeches of, what sounded to be, nesting keese. When he looked up and removed Nabooru’s hair from his face, he was awed by the hoard of women rushing towards him. Beholding such a sight dumbfounded Ganondorf and he loosened his grip on Nabooru. The woman silently slipped from his embrace but Ganondorf, too busy with the magnificent sight before him, didn’t even notice. As the huge mob of women got closer, he could make out individual faces and hear their voices overlap each other. He stood up straight and opened his arms as wide as his smile.

“Sisters, I’ve-” was all he could utter before he was knocked almost off his feet by the swarm of Gerudo. Nearly forty women surrounded Ganondorf and he knew every chatting, talking, ranting, screaming, yelling, crying, pushing, pulling, hugging, and kissing one of them. Ganondorf was being tugged this way and that as sister after sister tried to get their time with the boy who survived four years in the desert. And the center of their attention, despite being tossed around like a rag doll, smiled the entire time.

This was his home, just as he remembered it. He didn’t really realize how much he had missed it. As he was mercilessly pulled in every which direction, Ganondorf found himself becoming misty-eyed as well. He never really thought about how his absence would affect the compound when he left. Now, seeing everyone around him so happy with his return, it just solidified the fact that, just as with the twins, he would always be welcomed back.

The churning mass of women was hard to navigate but Ganondorf did manage to slowly make his way towards the ramp leading up to the compound’s main yard. The women continued to talk and chatter all at once both with Ganondorf and amongst themselves but, when Ganondorf stepped up to the yard, the outer layer of the mob suddenly just stopped and went quiet. After some urgent whispers and an uncomfortable amount of time, the entire group around him had fallen silent. Then the women split the group down the middle revealing the compound and three people standing before it. Nabooru and the Allmother stood in front of the entrance and another came out from behind them to walk towards Ganondorf. At first glance, Ganondorf didn’t even recognize the woman. But as she got closer, her features finally betrayed her identity despite the physical change. The woman was Rila, his mother.

Ganondorf knew that people would change after four years but he almost didn’t even recognize his own mother. She had gotten so thin that her ribs were showing under her top and her cheeks had sunken in. Ganondorf remembered that she used to have moderately wide hips that held up the metal lining of her pants, but now she was so thin that they were on the constant verge of falling. Her hair used to be solid crimson and only before he left did she begin to pick out greying hairs. Now her tied up hair was sprinkled with the bleached strands, making her hair look more sullen than it was back then.

Rila stopped a breath away from Ganondorf and he was forced to stare into her eyes. Ganondorf had never seen as much pain and anguish than there was in his mother’s eyes. She needn’t say a word as her eyes showed him all the pain he had put her through. Her lips kept involuntarily twitching as she fought to keep her tears on their shelf. Even her cheeks were marred by the rivers of them that hadn’t stopped since he left.

“Mother, I-” Ganondorf’s head suddenly snapped to the right as a bony-handed slap left its burning sting on his left cheek. The sound of her strike echoed through the mountains and made the entire congregation recoil as if they’d also been hit. But that slap didn’t just hit Ganondorf’s face, it wounded his soul. Through that split-second of contact, Ganondorf felt all the suffering his mother felt because of him. The anger, the denial, the sadness, and the overwhelming despair destroyed Ganondorf’s spirit and left him with nothing but shame. He kept his head to the right as he dared not look at his mother again.

“You left.” were her first words to him. They were simple words that declared a simple fact but, for Rila, they were the final realization of how close she had come to losing her son. For Ganondorf, he could only absorb the emotion behind them like a sparring dummy. Her voice was shaky and frail but it still carried the matriarchal command it always did.

“There was no note, no message, and the only hope that you were still alive was in the eyes of a silly girl who held a trinket. You… you just left.”

“Mother-”

Rila trampled over Ganondorf’s words before they even came out, “I grieved for you. I mourned my son’s death. I thought that my life was over and that you were dead!”

“I just-”

Rila started to become angry and tears as hot as molten metal burned their way down her cheeks, “You come back here expecting fanfare? Thinking that there won’t be any consequences!?” Every word she spoke was a dagger straight into his chest. Stabbing, twisting, burning, and branding their weight and meaning into his spirit.

“I’m… I’m sorry mothe-”

“Sorry?!” Rila’s voice cracked, “I thought you were dead for four years, and all you can say is ‘sorry’?”

“ _Mother!_ ” he said with a little more force, “I… I will never know the grief I’ve caused you. Nor will I know the pain you’ve felt. I’ve caused pain both after I left and before. But I thought that less people would get hurt because of me if I left. Then you wouldn’t be ashamed of me. You wouldn’t love me less.”

“Then I’ve failed as a mother.”

Ganondorf looked at Rila in confusion, “…Why?”

“Because you should know that there is nothing you could do in this world that would make me love you any less.”

The anger in Rila’s eyes slowly dissolved away and was replaced with sparkling compassion. Her sudden smile was still reminiscent of some sadness but betrayed the unending love she still had for her son.

“Welcome home, Ganondorf.”

Rila pulled Ganondorf down and wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace. Ganondorf, overcome with emotion, hugged his mother back as the crowd around them silently smiled with respect to their moment.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” she sobbed into his shoulder.

After drying their tears on each other’s shoulder, Rila pulled away and faced out to the crowd. She cleared her throat before addressing them.

“Sisters and daughters. Ganondorf, my only son and your only brother, has finally returned after four long years in the uninhabitable desert. He has grown since then into a stronger, smarter, and greater man. And now that he is returned to us, he is ready to take his place as King of the Gerudo!”

The women around them began to cheer and clap as Rila held her son’s hand up triumphantly. However, just as quickly as the cheering started, it was ended by some yelling coming from the back of the crowd. Ganondorf couldn’t make any of it out but most of the women in the crowd did and the air went stagnant once more. Then the sound of steel greaves hitting the stone floor resounded through the silent crowd.

“And what meaning of festivities is this?” rang a voice that pierced the silence from within the crowd, making its way towards Rila and Ganondorf, “Guards leave their posts, Gerudo leave their duties, all for what?” the crowd reluctantly parted just enough to reveal the foreboding presence of General Naberna. Time hadn’t been kind to the general either. Her wrinkles had only gotten worse and the scar on her face, going through her dead right eye, seemed to have only deepened instead of faded. When she fixed her gaze on Ganondorf and Rila, her mouth became a smug grin and she even raised an eyebrow.

“So, the late ‘king-to-be’ has returned.” She said, adding a drop of venom to each word, “Under normal circumstances, we’d try you for desertion.”

Naberna suddenly lost her smug grin when she spotted Rila’s menacing gaze and her voice dropped to a hiss, “But these are hardly normal circumstances.” Naberna then got uncomfortably close to Ganondorf, “Why did you come back?”

“Am I not entitled to come back to my own family?”

“Family? Is that also why you left?”

“I didn’t want to hurt people. If anything, that should be celebrated because the king-”

Naberna cut him off, “You may be heir to the throne, Ganondorf, but I-”

“Am happy for his return.” Rila cut Naberna off this time with her own threatening hiss and grabbed her forearm, “ _Right_?”

Naberna sneered and shook Rila’s hand off her armor.

“And you will allow us to celebrate his return accordingly.”

Naberna simply scoffed indignantly and spun to return to the compound. Ganondorf had never seen this side of his mother. The general seemed to bring out the most ruthless parts of Rila, parts he didn’t think she had, and it was apparently enough to deter even the fearless General Naberna.

Rila sighed away her annoyance and turned back to Ganondorf, “Well, I’m happy you’re back.”

“What was that ab-”

“Ganondorf, we’ll climb that dune when we come to it. For now…” Rila then raised her voice to address the entire crowd again, “now we prepare a feast to commemorate the return of our Ganondorf!”

The cheering began anew and most of the crowd hurried off to prepare for the celebration. Ganondorf thought he saw Nabooru for a second but she seemed to disappear within the crowd. But before he could give chase, Rila pulled him off towards the training area to meet the trainees. Her excitement and the awed faces of the trainees drove Naberna and her angry words from his mind. As Rila excitedly rambled off the different names of children and their respective mothers, Ganondorf couldn’t help but smile.

 

He was finally home.


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nabooru spends time with Ganondorf.

The celebration the Gerudo put on for Ganondorf was a grand spectacle that involved every Gerudo in the compound. There were games for the children, drink for the adults, and the sheer amount of food they prepared was disgusting by Gerudo standards. They ate leever and guay prepared a dozen ways each along with large amounts of freshly baked bread, fruits from the trading caravans, and four large barrels full of wheat alcohol. By the end of the night, a single plate of roasted guay was left along with two loaves of bread and a half-eaten slice of fried leever. The four barrels were completely dry, signaling that more than a few Gerudo would be incapacitated tomorrow.

It was almost midnight when Ganondorf walked out onto the roof of the compound. He hadn’t had much to drink, enabling him to be out at such a late hour. He stood at the edge of the tallest shelter’s roof with his eyes closed, reliving the night’s events. He silently remembered every conversation while also piecing together the events that transpired after his departure. He remembered congratulating many new mothers, catching up with old training buddies, and he fondly remembered that Rila, the entire time, was with him. He was even able to see the Allmother who, despite being eighty-three years old now, looked like she hadn’t aged a day. The celebration went on for so long that Ganondorf concluded that there were only two Gerudo he hadn’t spoken to at the party.

General Naberna was nowhere to be found during the festivities. This was strange because it always seemed to be when people wanted her the least was when she showed up, and her subordinates could attest to how much of a party person she was not. Despite all her guards and trainees being absent from their duties, she remained inside the compound where no one could find her. When he asked Rila about this, on multiple occasions, she would shrug off the question and distract Ganondorf with something else. Ganondorf had even sent Gerudo into the compound to look for her, but they were either too unenthusiastic about the task, or they came back fruitless despite their best efforts. This would’ve concerned Ganondorf, but his mother held a certain disdain for the General so her absence wasn’t an entirely bad thing.

The other person he couldn’t seem to get a hold of, was Nabooru. After his initial lasting embrace with his long-lost friend, she seemed to have disappeared within the commotion. At first she would be walking just outside the group surrounding him, tantalizingly close yet frustratingly out of reach. Her form had filled out nicely over the years with her hips forming to her metal belt to keep her pants up, and her developed breasts held aloft by the single strip of cloth that covered them. When the celebration began, Ganondorf would catch a glimpse of Nabooru every once in a while, but he would always lose her just before getting to her. It was almost magical how she vanished the second his eyesight to her was broken. She was always looking at him with a sidelong glance, inviting him to go after her, almost daring him to leave the festivities in pursuit of her. Many times he would be in the middle of conversations and that gaze would captivate him, causing his thought processes to come to a screeching halt.

“Ganondorf.” a sudden loud whisper shot straight into his ear. The unwarranted rush of air sent needles through his ear and caused him to jump right out of his skin.

“Nabooru!” he yelped in surprise, “Goddess, you scared me half to death!”

Nabooru was too busy laughing to respond properly. In fact, she was laughing so hard that tears began to form in her eyes and she eventually collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles. As torrential as her emotion was, she did eventually gain control over her laughing and allowed Ganondorf to help her back up.

“Satisfied?” Ganondorf said, hoisting her up to her feet.

“Oh, goddess! I… I haven’t laughed that hard in forever.” Nabooru dusted herself off, still giggling slightly.

“Why not? I thought adulthood was full of humorous moments.”

“Very far and few in between, unfortunately.”

“In between what?”

“It’s all politics Ganondorf.” Nabooru shook her head, “Everyone’s trying to move up the chain of command but no one’s ever happy when good things happen to you.”

“Sounds like you speak from experience.”

Nabooru sighed and walked with him to the edge of the roof, “You know, I got into a fight today.”

“What!?” Ganondorf sat down with Nabooru, “With who?”

“Nisha. She doesn’t like it that I’m her lieutenant and challenged me to a duel in the arena at noon.”

“Ok, one thing at a time. Nisha, the girl two years older than both of us, picked a fight with you?”

“Yep.”

“But she was so nice back then.”

“Turns out, she’s actually very insecure and stubborn.”

“And you accepted a duel at noon. Are you insane?”

“No more than you are. I also did it with one hand behind my back.”

“Come on.”

“Really!”

“Show off.”

“Takes one to know one.”

They shared a curt sputtering giggle.

“Oh,” Ganondorf interrupted their laughter, “and you’re a lieutenant now?”

“I showed exemplary efficiency and skill as a leader so I was promoted two weeks ago.”

“Two weeks and already in a fight for honor. Wow, a lot _has_ changed.”

Nabooru repositioned and tucked her knees up into her chest with her arms wrapped around them then spun to face Ganondorf.

“Alright, enough about me and the compound. Let’s focus on you.” She jabbed a finger into Ganondorf’s chest, “How did you survive in the desert for four years?”

“I uhh… found an oasis.”

“An oasis?! Where!” Nabooru’s eyes went wide with excitement.

“I don’t know!” he shrugged, “Do you think I was charting the desert as I was running away from home?”

“Oases are rare in the desert; you must know this. The only recorded oasis that has been consistently right where it is marked is the spirit temple. We have stories and legends about finding hidden oases but they’re only that, stories. So it is a big deal if you found one.”

“Well I did and I stayed there for the longest time. That’s how I survived.”

“On water alone?”

“I can catch guay, Nabooru. I’m not completely helpless.”

Nabooru adopted a pseudo-pensive look expression and nodded her head, “Ok, ok. Then maybe you can explain…” she grabbed Ganondorf’s scimitar and began examining it in front of her, “this.”

Ganondorf looked at his empty scabbard then back to Nabooru, “Hey! Give that back!”

“Where in the world did you get this?”

He didn’t notice it when he had enchanted the sword, but in the nighttime darkness it emitted a feint unnatural glow. Even though the metal was very rusty and it was as dull as a rock, Nabooru seemed transfixed by its soft blue glow.

“Oh, you’ll never believe that one.”

“If I can take your oasis story, then I think I can handle how you got a rusty glowing sword.”

“Fine then. You ready for this one?”

“I hang on every word.” She gave him her undivided attention, even setting the sword down in her lap.

“I was attacked by a lizalfos.”

There was a long and painfully awkward silence between the two that was only broken by a sneezing guard in the distance. Nabooru looked at Ganondorf with an incredulous expression and had one eyebrow raised. Ganondorf, on the other hand, had a smug grin that dared her to believe him.

“If you’re not going to tell me then take it back.” Nabooru gave his sword back and made to stand.

“What did I say? Told you, you wouldn’t believe me.” Ganondorf accepted the sword then noticed Nabooru standing. He put the sword to his side and grabbed her arm before she got up, “No, wait! I’m serious!”

Nabooru settled back down on the ledge, “Ganondorf, everything you’ve said thus far comes from hearsay and nursery rhymes. Kids stories and legends!”

“But it’s true, I swear! Look.”

Ganondorf grabbed the blade and placed it in Nabooru’s grip, “The handle is made all wrong. Feel the balance.”

Nabooru tested the blade noting the extra weight it had on the blade without a counterweight in the pommel, “Yes, and?”

“And the grip has only three indents instead of four. Lizalfos only have four fingers. So why else would this sword have one missing if not to be used by a creature with only four fingers?” Ganondorf was very enthusiastic in his logic.

“That’s… That’s amazing.”

“We fought for a long time and its scales were like armor, they were so thick. Thank the goddess my daggers were so sharp or I would’ve never won.” Nabooru continued to look over his prize but he could sense a little sadness within her eyes, “What’s wrong Nabs?”

Nabooru was caught off guard by the sudden use of her childhood byname. She looked into Ganondorf’s pleading eyes and sighed in defeat, “It’s just… you come back with these tales of spectacle and grandeur… and it sounds like you didn’t-”

Ganondorf grabbed Nabooru’s shoulders and delicately turned her to face him.

“Nabooru… every day, I thought about you. For four years I missed you. And there is nothing on this earth that could make me forget you. I… I- I just… I mean, I’m-”

“I know.” Nabooru cut Ganondorf’s stuttering off and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands fell away from her shoulders in confusion for what she thought he was going to say.

“I know.” she repeated, “When you said it to Rila… you didn’t just say it to her.”

“Sorry” wasn’t the word he was going for but Nabooru seemed to have attached herself to that idea and Ganondorf was reluctant to say what he was really feeling. He just sighed the feeling away and rested his chin on Nabooru’s head. She then released him and instead rested her head on his shoulder as they both looked out into the desert with the night sky above. Ganondorf sighed again, but this time out of comfort.

“The night sky still looks beautiful from up here.” Ganondorf broke the peaceful silence that had briefly fallen.

Nabooru mumbled an agreement and inched closer to Ganondorf as the freezing air seemed to be getting to her.

“I really missed this spot. You can really see all the beauties of the desert from here.”

“Since when was the desert beautiful?”

“Well, from my perspective, it’s gorgeous.”

Nabooru giggled and placed Ganondorf’s arm around her. She was able to find a comfortable position leaning against the side of his chest with her arms tucked in and wrapped about her mid-section. The cold air didn’t really bother Ganondorf so he preoccupied himself with lightly massaging Nabooru’s hip.

“I bet you say that to all the ranking officers.”

“What?” he chuckled.

“I’ll have you know that fraternizing with a lieutenant of the army is not just against the rules, it will earn you no rank.”

“Rank?” Ganondorf snorted, “What need have I of rank? I’ll be king soon enough and I won’t need to worry about rank.”

“And when is this sudden takeover supposed to happen, your highness?” Nabooru snorted back.

“Mothe- Rila, said that the ceremony would be held in four days.”

“So early? But you’ve just gotten back.”

“She’s confident that that no one will object. She said that I was supposed to be given the honor on my seventeenth birthday.”

“So the ‘reign of Ganondorf’ should’ve started a month ago?”

“Oh don’t make it sound like a usurping! I’m just being appointed a position of highest authority regardless of everyone’s rank in society.”

“That’s exactly what a usurping is, Ganondorf.”

“Yes, but don’t make it sound like it.”

Nabooru sputtered and laughed again, but with much more control than before. Her laugh, though goofy to others, rang out like a melodious song that he wanted to listen to repeated over and over forever.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” she stopped her laughter abruptly and unfurled her arms to dig into her pants pocket, “I have this for you.”

Nabooru produced the copper soul medallion and held it up for Ganondorf to take. When he held it the cool metal felt comfortable and familiar to the touch. As he continued to look at the medallion a strange aura became noticeable to him. It was a very small white aura but it glowed enough to convince Ganondorf that the metal had at least small magical properties.

“You alright?” Nabooru saw his hesitation and nudged him slightly.

“You know what? Keep it.” He said, handing the copper medallion back.

“What?”

“If the magic in that medallion was strong enough to work even though I was in the desert all alone… you’re the only one I’d ever want to hold it.”

She gently accepted the medallion back and, after feeling the cool metal again, placed it back in her pocket. She tucked her arms around herself again and fell silent while Ganondorf absent-mindedly stroked the shape of her hip with his hand. Her eyes went half-closed and she almost drifted to sleep until Ganondorf sighed heavily. It was painfully obvious that something was bothering him and she was certain she knew what it was.

“I’m sorry about my mother.”

“Why do you say that?” Ganondorf’s hand stopped rubbing her side.

“Ever since you left she’s been strange. I mean, she’s always acted strange when anyone speaks about magic, but… I was young and stupid, and she was less open about it as well. And now that you’re back, she’s just gotten worse. You saw what she tried to do this afternoon.”

“She’s always been like that. It doesn’t bother me. As for magic, just don’t mention it I guess.”

Nabooru huffed and rolled her eyes, “Do you know how many of our sayings have to do with magic? And your explosion at the trials only sparked more talk it all around the compound.”

Ganondorf’s eyebrows furrowed and his eyes darted about as if he was sorting through the cluttered ideas of his own mind. The man looked immensely pensive and the muscles in his jaw locked along with his thoughts.

“Listen,” Nabooru brought her lips close to his ear, “don’t worry about my mother. I’ll keep her busy. You just relax.” he smiled, “I’ve got a feeling that, now that your back, everything is going to be,” she placed a soft affectionate kiss on his cheek, “perfect.”

As she went back to her previous position, Nabooru felt Ganondorf melt into her kiss. His tense muscles loosened and his ears became the slightest hue of red.

“I missed you Nabs.” He whispered to the sky.

“I missed you more.” She whispered to his heart.


	3. Royal Duties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rehearsal is important.

A throne, by Gerudo definition, was little more than a piece of furniture. A chair held no significance regardless of the person who sat in it. The only things that distinguished the throne from other chairs was that it got its own room, and the chair was made entirely out of steel. The throne was said to have been constructed by Din himself using nothing but the sun’s heat and his bare hands. The metal chair was much larger than other chairs and its curves, though seemingly the result of years of abuse, were purposely made into it. The design made the chair comfortable to sit in at first but it gradually became more uncomfortable as negotiations ran on. This was intended to promote quick discussions and fast resolutions.

The surface of the steel was engraved with a multitude of Gerudo sayings all with beautifully detailed letters that had bright gold inlay to make them stand out. The mannerisms were all philosophical by nature and they varied in length from being completed on one flat surface to being so long they wrapped around pieces of metal multiple times. There were even words under the seat and behind it on the metal against the wall. The only parts of the chair that had no words on them were the very ends of the armrests. These were, instead, adorned with the head of a large beaked bird and an open hand; both with a scroll inside them. The scroll in the hand was filled with the most important and used Gerudo laws and was easily accessible on the right. The bird, however, had its beak sealed around its scroll so tightly that nobody had ever been able to pry it free. Legend said that it was cursed with the names of those that wronged the first three Gerudo.

The throne room was carved out in the middle of the compound and Ganondorf always imagined it to be bigger than it was. The whole room was twenty paces in each direction and its ceiling sat almost ten feet high. The throne stood at the far end of the room, against a wall, and atop a slightly elevated platform. There was also an identically made wooden chair next to the throne that Ganondorf guessed was for the Allmother to sit in on negotiations. This chair was the same as the throne except the arms had nothing on their ends. The words inscribed into the wood were also inlaid with gold to make them stand out as well. The walls of the room were covered the entire way with cabinets filled with scrolls and papers inscribed with Gerudo law, tradition, and records of all kinds. Rila was currently sifting through one of those archives while Ganondorf looked through the one next to her.

“Have you found it yet?” Rila asked, replacing a scroll of birth records from twenty years ago back on the shelf.

“If I had, you’d be the first to know.” Ganondorf answered back while returning another recipe to the pile in his cabinet.

“Don’t get cheeky with me!”

“I just don’t understand how a scroll we looked at yesterday could end up missing after only one day.”

“Well, when you’re in charge you can organize it yourself. Maybe you could even come up with a system so that the scrolls never get misplaced. But, for now, keep looking.”

“Honestly, it’s like looking for a bead within a dune.”

“Oh, stop exaggerating!”

“If I was exaggerating, we would’ve found it by-”

“ _Got it!_ ”

“…Now.”

Rila held the extremely old scroll out in front of her and began to unravel it. The papyrus, though it was oiled many times to keep its elasticity, still crackled and groaned slightly from the disturbance. Ganondorf but the last scroll he had looked at back and turned to his mother. She began speed reading through the words on the papyrus.

“This is the ritual of blah, blah, blah. Certain age yadda, yadda, yadda… consent of the people, yes we all know… Ah, here it is. ‘The King’s Rites’.”

“What was that part about the peoples’ consent?”

“Do not try to derail me again. We have enough problems without you sabotaging yourself.”

“But don’t you think it’s a little hasty to take the throne after four years away? I mean, I did come back only about a week ago. Who’s to say that everybody will like-”

“Anything slower than a leever dies out here, you know that. We have to move quickly or you’ll be left behind. Now shut your ever-running mouth and let me help you!”

Ganondorf sighed and awaited his mother’s instruction.

“So, the ceremony has started and you’ve already walked up to the stage in front of everybody. Who do you greet first?”

“I greet the Allmother.” when silence came from Rila he looked at her quizzically, “What?”

“…Because…?”

“Uh, because… she’s the first one there?”

Rila reached up and flicked Ganondorf’s nose, “No. Because she is the leader while we don’t have a king, and you are not king yet.”

Ganondorf rubbed the tip of his nose, “Why must I memorize that? It’s not even a thing to say!”

“Ganondorf, when you honor someone you must respect them with your actions, words, _and_ thoughts. People can tell if you don’t respect them even if you say or do nothing to indicate it. Understand?”

“Yeah, I get it.” Ganondorf sighed.

Rila returned to her scroll, “Alright. Now how do you greet her?”

“Good morning, Allmother.” Ganondorf said with a bow and added reverence in his voice.

“And she would respond, ‘The sun rises on a new day, my son.’”

“Now do it in her voice.”

“No.” Naberna barely acknowledged the remark, “Who do you go to next?”

“I go to Generals Divya, Indu, and Naberna.”

“And why do you go to them second?”

“Oh, I know this one. It’s because they protect the people and… uh…” Ganondorf’s face scrunched up as he tried to remember, “and those who would lay down their lives for us deserve our respect. Right?”

“Good! Now what do you say to them?”

“Good afternoon, Generals.” He bowed again.

“To which Naberna will respond with, ‘The sun, at its peak, looks down upon a strong warrior.’”

“And then I go to you because I must always remember from whence I came.”

“Correct, you’re getting it. And what do you say?”

“Goodnight mother. I will meet you with the coming of the dawn.”

“And I respond.” Rila looked away from the scroll to recite from memory, “The sun sets and hides behind the shadow of the world. It leaves, knowing I have raised you well and taught you Gerudo law and respect. And when it rises, my son will be revered by his people. When it rises, it will see you lead with my love as a template. When it rises, the Gerudo will have a new king.”

“It feels strange when you call me a king. Especially ‘your’ king.”

“It won’t be at the ceremony. Everyone will be saying it. And even at that, you might as well get used to it now because that’s how many of us will greet you from then on.”

“You can still call me your son.”

Rila chuckled, “You’ll always be my son, Ganondorf. Nothing will change that.” She almost closed the scroll but then noticed a red heading peeking from under the bottom roll of paper. When she spied this, she gasped, “Oh, I almost forgot your acceptance.” She opened the scroll to the last bit of text.

Ganondorf groaned, his hope of leaving early shattered, “Alright, but can we make it quick? I’m supposed to meet up with Nabooru for a sparring match tonight and I don’t want to be late.”

“I…” Rila gripped the scroll tighter, “I don’t think you and Nabooru should talk to each other anymore.”

“What? Why? Did I do something wrong?”

Rila let the two sides of the scroll meet without rolling it up, “It’s not what you’ve done, but what I’m afraid you might to.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ganondorf, you do know our laws concerning the relationships between Gerudo, right?”

“I learned them as a child, as did everyone else. But what does that-”

“Then you know why I don’t think you should train with her anymore.”

“But I don’t understand,” Ganondorf’s eyes widened with genuine confusion, “Nabooru and I are just friends!”

Rila paused for a while, “Just friends?”

“Just friends, I swear.”

Rila paused for longer this time, “Alright. But if I catch wind or grain that you and that girl are-”

“Don’t worry, mother. I understand.”

“Good.”

“Why haven’t the other girls been reminded of this as much? Just the other day, Anita asked me if I knew the laws too.”

“I…” Rila was caught off guard by the question, “… am going to read and you will respond.”

“I don’t see the other girls being reminded about-”

But Rila had already started reading, “Do you, Ganondorf, swear to follow and uphold Gerudo law as it is written?”

“Mother-”

Rila repeated the line only faster and louder, her annoyance resounding within her voice, “Do you, Ganondorf, swear to follow and uphold Gerudo law as it is written?”

Ganondorf huffed with equal annoyance, “Lest the sands take my soul forever.”

Rila folded the scroll without rolling it, sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose, “You say it as if you are reading it.”

“I say it as if you aren’t answering my question.”

“And I won’t! Now end it!” Rila yelled.

Ganondorf recoiled from her sudden outburst but Rila, instead of apologizing, kept her steely gaze on him until he recomposed himself.

“Well… then, what’s wrong with the way I said it?”

“Ganondorf,” Rila’s expression softened, “You must believe what you say with all your heart. If you don’t have strength in your words, you won’t have resolve in your actions. With that mentality, you’ll never receive the respect befitting a king.”

“Yeah, Naberna made that abundantly clear already.”

Rila rolled her eyes, “Would you just forget that callus, idiotic general? She’s only jealous that someone else is going to be taking her place as protector of the tribe.”

“And it has nothing to do with the same concerns you’ve had?”

Rila hesitated again, pensively staring through the floor. She then sighed and closed her eyes, “Ganondorf, you would do well to keep these accusations to yourself. It would only embolden her contempt and strengthen her case against you.”

“But she doesn’t have any-”

“Rila!” a voice called from the entrance to the room.

“Yes sister?” Rila called back a bit too enthusiastically.

“I was sent to remind you of your meeting with General Naberna and the Allmother. It will convene in an hour.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you sister!” Rila reluctantly rolled up the scroll and tucked it under her arm, “We’ll go over the words a different time.”

“I doubt she’ll give me the satisfaction of reciting them anyway.”

Rila rolled her eyes and turned towards the exit, “You mustn’t be so negative. Naberna might allow your ceremony on the premise that you’ll make a fool of yourself early on.”

Ganondorf followed Rila towards the exiting door to the throne room. They stepped out and seamlessly transferred into the flow of traffic that bustled about this section of the compound. Gerudo sisters walked past in every direction going about their regular duties, or simply getting out of the midday sun. The morning guard had just finished switching out with the afternoon guard so the halls weren’t chaotic, but they were certainly busy. Ganondorf was always the tallest child in his group of trainees and now he was the tallest adult in the compound coming to a foreboding seven and a half feet tall. Most Gerudo stopped growing at about five or five and a half. Nonetheless, he thanked the goddess that Gerudo ceilings were a standard ten feet high or he wouldn’t be able to walk around. The hallways were also mostly large enough to occupy two lanes of traffic, with main hallways like the one to the throne room and ones leading outside being large enough to have small groups travel in both directions.

“So,” Ganondorf said while keeping pace with Rila, “what if the ceremony goes without any hindrances?”

“Then… the sixth Gerudo king will take his place on the throne and give his first decree.” Rila quickly weaved through a line of women who simply parted around Ganondorf’s larger frame.

“But,” she continued when they reached a less busy corridor, “we both know she will intervene. It’s written across her face whenever the subject comes up.”

“Isn’t there a law buried somewhere that stops her from messing things up?”

“You are more than welcome to go sifting through the archives again. I only kept this scroll because I will be the only one using it.”

“But is there one you remember or read by chance or something?”

Rila huffed and scratched the top of her head briefly, “The only way I could think of that would legally forbid her from being present at the ceremony is if she is banished to the desert or confined to quarters during the ceremony.” The duo came to another junction and turned left then quickly turned right, “You must understand Ganondorf, a king is only born every one hundred years and we’ve never had one live too far past the age of sixty. Even if a king lives to that old an age there are still forty years until another male is born. In that time people get used to life without a ruling body. And those at the top are sometimes reluctant, even unwilling, to relinquish that kind of power.”

“So throw her off her high pedestal. Show her that she’s acting like a child!”

They took another turn down a hall filled with personal rooms, the doorways covered by colored curtains, “And how exactly do you intend to do that?”

“I umm… I don’t know, but there has to be something that’ll stop her from ruining the ceremony.”

“If she does do something before the event we could take her to trial and only then will there be a chance to disrupt whatever plans she’s made.”

“Then there is some-”

“And even if you could bring her to trial, she has many supporters within the armed ranks, and don’t forget her daughter, who are more than willing to testify on her behalf.:

“Nabooru will side with me. Of that, I am sure.”

Suddenly, Rila stopped walking and spun to face her son. Ganondorf was forced to stop so abruptly that a few Gerudo bumped into his back. Rila looked at him sternly.

“What?”

“How are you so sure about that?”

“Nabooru resents her mother. Naberna pushes her too hard and she hates it. She would sooner side with a lizard before her mother.”

Rila, after a long time with the afternoon traffic flowing around them, sighed and continued down the hall. They soon came to her room entrance at the end. Where there would’ve been a door was simply orange curtains blocking view of the inside. Rila parted the fabric but turned back to Ganondorf when in the frame.

“I only want what’s best for you. You know that, right?”

“Of course mother. And I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

This made Rila smile and the boundless compassion returned to her eyes. She reached up and cupped Ganondorf’s jaw in her slender hands. She forced him to stoop down and receive a light kiss on his forehead.

“You’re such a good boy.”

They regarded each other for a moment until Rila released his chin and waved her hand in the air dismissively.

“Alright, go. Have your training session. I must prepare for another meeting with the good General.”

“Please don’t hurt her this time. I know how you get around her.”

“Ba, bap, ba, ba, bap!” she waved her hand in front of his face to silence him, “Don’t worry about me. Go, now! Don’t be late!”

Ganondorf smiled, gave his mother one last hug, and took off down the hallway towards one of the exits to the compound. Rila was left looking on, smiling with pride. However, her smile was slowly replaced with a look of growing concern and sadness. She finally huffed with her eyes closed, shook her head, and disappeared behind the curtains.


	4. Old Scores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight for the history books.

The training ground had changed very little if Ganondorf’s memory served him right. The rotating sparring posts, though visibly repaired many times and even replaced in some aspects, still tested trainees in the art of striking and blocking. The training glaives were still long sticks of wood flattened on one end and the training swords were still only sheets of shaped metal without an edge. The air was still filled with the scent of blood, sweat, and determination and the floor still had stains from the work of past trainees. But the one thing that brought him back to his childhood was the echoing sound of all the trainers saying that one word he knew all too well. Again.

One tent, however, Ganondorf did not recognize. It was, of course, made out of a white tarp but the inside looked to be a maze of wooden logs creating slots. These slots each had a target at the end of them that trainees were constantly throwing daggers at. The daggers that bounced off their intended targets noisily clanged to the floor where a wooden bar pushed them back to the trainees when a pulley system was used. This prevented the trainees from walking into the range of the other trainees. In Ganondorf’s childhood they would just throw at the training posts. It was probably why they were repaired so often.

Watching the children, Ganondorf was pleased to see that most of the daggers that were thrown did hit their targets. However, there was one girl that wasn’t having the best of luck as each knife she threw was either too high, too low, or too wobbly to embed itself in the wooden target. Ganondorf walked over to one of the trainers and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Oh, hi Ganondorf! What are you doing here?” the woman said with a smile.

“Hey Phara, I’ve got a match with Nabooru in…” Ganondorf looked up at the red sky, “an hour, maybe more. Who is that trainee there?”

Phara looked to where Ganondorf was pointing and furrowed her brow, “That’s Nadira but where is her trainer?”

Ganondorf was already walking towards the trainee before Phara finished, his voice becoming distant, “That’s alright Phara, I got this.”

As Ganondorf walked towards Nadira, the girl picked up another dagger and threw it in frustration at the target. She held the knife backwards and as it left her hand, the blade sliced into her index finger and she recoiled in pain. Ganondorf hastened his pace to the girl’s side and knelt to be level with her.

“Are you alright?”

Nadira was immediately startled and then, on sight of Ganondorf, hid the cut she had just received, “Oh, Ganondorf! Y-yes I’m alright.”

“You are?” Ganondorf gave the girl a doubtful look.

“I just cut myself a little. It’s nothing, really.”

“Let me see.”

Nadira reluctantly retrieved her hand from behind her back and a fair bit of blood had already covered her fingers and the thumb she was using to try and stop the leak. When she removed her thumb a deep cut, almost perfectly centered on the top section of her index finger, spilt blood that traveled around her hand and dripped off her knuckle.

“Well, first off,” Ganondorf reached for the girl’s canteen and fished through his pockets, “we need to stop that bleeding.”

When Ganondorf pulled bandages from his pocket, Nadira looked up at him in confusion, “Why do you have bandages?”

“I was going to use them in my fight with Nabooru, but I think this is a little more important.” He uncorked the canteen and gently guided Nadira’s hand towards him.

“You’re fighting Nabooru? But she’s like, the best fighter!”

Ganondorf smiled as he rinsed Nadira’s hand of blood, “Actually, I’m the one she used to train with.”

Nadira’s eyes went wide with wonder, “Wow, that’s awesome!”

The statement made Ganondorf smile as he finished wrapping Nadira’s finger in the bandage. He tied a simple knot and ripped the excess fabric with his teeth.

“There.” He said when he finished, “better?”

“A little.” Nadira said, squeezing the bandage slightly, “It still hurts.”

“It will for the next four days if you take care of it, that cut was pretty deep. Have the medics look at it at the end of the day to have it properly cared for. If it ever happens again, this is how to bandage it in the field. As for your accuracy-”

“Oh, I’ll get it. You don’t need to-”

“Just watch.”

Ganondorf reached down and grabbed the final dagger from the floor, noticing the extra wooden targets leaning against the front guard. He stayed kneeling with Nadira to show her how he held the blade and demonstrate how to line up the throw. Then he rose to his full height and took two large steps away from the alley. Nadira, seeing the man concentrating heavily, took a step out of the way. Ganondorf put the dagger in front of him and, after lining the blade with the target, threw the knife with all his strength. The blade through the air at such an incredible speed that Nadira hadn’t noticed that it had left Ganondorf’s hand until she heard the crack that came from the target. When Ganondorf looked at Nadira, he was delighted to see the little girl’s eyes beaming with amazement. It was also at this moment that Ganondorf every trainer had stopped their trainees to watch him. Suddenly feeling self-conscious and slightly embarrassed, Ganondorf smiled awkwardly and returned to the girl he was instructing.

“That was amazing!” Nadira exclaimed as Ganondorf got close. When he came to the range he pulled the rope to the pulley system and brought the target up to him. The dagger he threw had embedded itself to the hilt in the wood. Ganondorf grabbed the knife and grunted as he pulled the blade from the target. When the knife finally came out, the target completely split in two and fell to the floor. After clearing the floor of the splinters, he set up another target on the stand and gathered the daggers to place them on the stand in front of it. He finally took one of the daggers and handed it to Nadira before using the pulley system to send the target down the range again.

“Do you know how to do it now?”

Nadira seemed to be mesmerized for a bit at first but quickly snapped out of it to take the dagger from Ganondorf, “Y-yeah, sure. I can try.”

“Just follow my example.”

Nadira sighed and stepped up to the range. She positioned the knife in her injured hand and took aim at the new target. Before she could hurt herself again, Ganondorf reached over and repositioned her hand on the blade. He saw the girl flinch slightly.

“My finger still stings.”

“Fight through it, sister. Pain should never stop you. If it does, you are dead.”

Nadira nodded her head and focused on the target. She looked to have completely forgotten her injury and now took slow focused breaths. After some more preparation, Nadira quickly reeled her arm back and threw the knife at the target. The blade made a very nice arc and it hit the target far from the edge but not in the center. It didn’t seem to matter to Nadira who jumped with joy.

“I did it! I did it!”

“Good job!”

“Thanks!” Nadira exclaimed before wrapping her arms around his neck in a quick embrace.

“Now practice getting the knife in the center. Hitting your target does nothing if you are inaccurate.”

The girl nodded and continued her training by picking up another dagger and lining up another shot. Ganondorf looked about and found Nabooru watching him from the arena section. Ganondorf patted Nadira’s head and walked away as her trainer silently took her place by her side. As Ganondorf got closer, Nabooru’s smile grew wider. She had on her Gerudo guard uniform on and had her hands wrapped in bandages.

“Enjoying the show?” he said as he stepped up to her.

“Come now, it was cute! You’re a good teacher.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be instructing some soldiers, Lieutenant?”

“Actually, I was supposed to be sparring with a certain somebody two fights ago.”

Ganondorf shrugged, “I… yeah. I got a little distracted there.”

“It’s fine. Come to the arena, I don’t think there are any fights waiting.”

Ganondorf followed behind Nabooru as she led him to the edge of the arena. Other Gerudo were already there watching and betting on the fight. They stopped just outside the white line where a wooden post stood to show the queue for fights. Two young women, most likely a year or two out of the trials, were already sparring inside the arena but they were trading blows so intensely, Ganondorf couldn’t make out who was fighting. All he could make out were the orange and blue ribbons they wore on their respective arms.

“It seems we have to wait.” Nabooru said as they both folded their arms.

“So who is that in there?” Ganondorf motioned to the arena.

“Kala is in orange. Amita in blue. They’ve been having a dispute over who’s been stealing the good bathing oil. Hopefully this ends it. I hate having bickering roommates.”

“They sound as if they are children.”

“Children are cute. _They_ are insufferable. Always arguing about something. And if they aren’t at each other’s throats, they’re gossiping! I almost can’t stand them anymore.”

“Right. And who would you rather bunk with?”

Nabooru was quiet for a moment but then said under her breath, “You.”

Ganondorf grinned but quickly recoiled with everyone as Kala pulled Amita over her shoulder and flipped her onto her back. Kala wasted no time in putting Amita into an arm pin that looked very painful. It took longer than Ganondorf thought, but eventually Amita tapped her hand on the ground signaling her surrender. Kala released her opponent and the two took a moment to recover and undo the fabrics on their arms. They left the arena in a fit of laughter and applause.

“I told you, I never stole your oils.” Kala told her roommate.

As they walked away towards the compound, Ganondorf and Nabooru walked into the arena.

“You ready?” he asked Nabooru.

“Been ready for four years.” She said back while stretching.

Ganondorf began to tie the blue ribbon to his arm as Nabooru tied the orange one to her own.

“What was the old score? Thirteen to fourteen, my favor?”

“More like thirteen to thirteen, no one’s favor. You left it a tie.” Nabooru fixed her hair, “And this is the tie breaker.”

“By the way, who really did take Kala and Amita’s oils?”

“I did.” Nabooru adopted a smug grin, “They took my perfume so I only saw it fair. What’s the saying, ‘never steal from a thief’?”

“And how did you pit them against each other?”

“Ah… a trickster never reveals her secrets.”

“Fine then,” Ganondorf looked over at her, still tying his ribbon, “if I win, you tell me.”

“Oh, a wager then, is it?” Nabooru put her hands on her hips, “And what if I win?”

“Then… I’ll be Kala and Amita’s roommate for a whole week.”

“Oh you are on!”

Without warning, Nabooru lunged towards Ganondorf, who had just finished tying his ribbon, and delivered a quick punch combination. Ganondorf evaded the attacks but only barely, the punches coming far too close. He finally slipped away from the onslaught and followed up with a volley of his own aiming low with powerful strikes. Nabooru dodged out of their way as if she were expecting them, then a surprise roundhouse caught Ganondorf off guard and the kick grazed the very edge of his hair as he ducked out of the way just in time. Ganondorf disengaged in tandem with Nabooru by rolling away from her as she did the same. When he came up and spun around, he found Nabooru watching his movement very closely; intensely focusing on him so as to not be caught off guard. Ganondorf, to Nabooru’s surprise, smiled at her.

“It seems we’ve learned new moves, huh?” he chuckled.

“You noticed? How sweet. It seems your moves expired three years ago.”

Ganondorf heard gasps and snickers from behind him and glanced to see the small crowd forming.

“I would’ve shown you had I not been taken by surprise.”

“I’m sorry,” she chuckled sarcastically, “I thought you were ready,”

“I haven’t even had time to wrap my hands.”

Nabooru produced his bandages from her pocket and smiled mischievously, “Then do it now.”

Ganondorf’s hand instinctively went to grab his pocket yet he was unsurprised when the bandages weren’t there. Nabooru tossed the large roll back to him and as soon as Ganondorf snatched it from the air he quickly wrapped both his hands. He had just enough fabric to efficiently cover his knuckles and wrists and flexed his arms when he was done. Nabooru eyed him very closely, obviously thinking about her next move.

When the two had taken their stances, they began to circle each other like they should’ve done at the beginning. Ganondorf, keeping his eyes level with Nabooru, started to slowly circle closer and closer until he was close enough to attack first. Nabooru was somehow taken by surprise and had to frantically dodge and block a combination of attacks that Ganondorf had never used on her before. He was using familiar combinations but ending them in unfamiliar, sometimes ridiculous ways. A three jab combo suddenly ended in a left hook. His roundhouse was followed by a dropkick instead of a reverse push. However, Ganondorf’s commitment to the added complexity left him open for unpredictable amounts of time. One such moment allowed Nabooru to leap out of the way to give them some distance. They regarded each other slightly panting.

Nabooru was the first to break the silence, “So, it seems you’ve learned some moves as well.”

“It’d be disappointing to return with nothing, right?”

Nabooru walked to the edge of the arena and stretched her neck, “Well, you certainly did not disappoint.” Her hands went to the back of her neck as she undid the gold necklace holding her top up, “So I guess now…” Nabooru let her top fall to the floor, exposing her chest, “we can get serious.”

The large crowd that had gathered around the arena erupted in hoots and hollers of all kinds, cheering Nabooru on. Ganondorf, on the other hand, became excited and chuckled as he shifted from side to side impatiently. When shirts and tops came off in the arena, it meant things were serious and fights became more exciting. So Ganondorf, likewise, shed his shirt and tossed it to the side where he left his sandals. The crowd went crazy with even more cheers, two sides clearly forming in the observers. Ganondorf rose to his full height and gave a smug grin to Nabooru. She scoffed at his provocative attempt and returned to her previous position in front of him. They took their stances and resumed circling each other.

Ganondorf had seen clothes shed during many fights when he was a trainee, but this time was different. No matter how hard he tried to focus, Ganondorf’s eyes kept gravitating towards Nabooru’s exposed chest. He felt strange and very annoyed at his eyes’ sudden infatuation with the woman’s chest. To make matters worse, this distraction could cost him the match. So, to reestablish his focus, Ganondorf attacked first. He let loose more attacks but Nabooru seemed to know his advances before he made them. His punches and kicks either soared through the air or thumped against an iron defense. It was exhilarating for him. After four years of fighting nothing but dummies, finally fighting an adapting, calculating, and thinking being felt amazing.

All of Ganondorf’s attacks had failed and he had since gone on the defensive. Trying to get around her new defensive capabilities was going to be tough. So Ganondorf decided to pull out an old move he used to do in his training days. He dodged Nabooru’s attacks and began his own advances mid-combo to throw his opponent off. Then he ended one of his own combinations with a fast leg sweep that Nabooru easily jumped over. Ganondorf, assuming she was in the perfect position, followed up with a strong shoulder charge. But Nabooru hadn’t jumped straight up, she had anticipated his attack and had jumped above him. She landed behind him and gave him a playful smack on the back of his head as he stumbled forward. They smiled at each other and immediately went back into another volley of traded blows that made them dance all around the arena together.

The crowd around the arena had gotten huge as every trainer in the area pulled their students from their regular rounds to watch the legendary fight. Nabooru, nimble and strong, and Ganondorf, powerful yet quick, weren’t just putting on a spectacular fight for the adults, but they saw an invaluable opportunity to show the young ones perfect examples of flawless technique. At first, the crowd cheered with each successful advance and landed blow as they rooted for one or the other. But as the fight dragged on, the people slowly became silent and simply watched in awe as the two friends went for hours dodging and parrying, neither letting up for even a second.

When it finally came for the trainees to retire inside the two were still locked in combat, though it had gotten slower due to their shared fatigue. Their engagements were fewer and they landed more attacks resulting in more damage done to one another. It was around midnight by the time they stopped. Fatigue had finally gotten to them and they dropped to their knees when they pushed each other away.

“What’s wrong?” Ganondorf panted as his sweat pooled on the floor, “You… you give up?”

“Hah.” Nabooru coughed out between breaths, “No! I just… you… goddess’ sake.”

The fatigue took hold of Nabooru and she collapsed to the floor on her back. Ganondorf, unwilling to give up and concerned for Nabooru, painfully dragged himself back up and slowly trudged to her side. As soon as he got to her and saw the labored rise and fall of her bare chest, he collapsed himself right next to her. They stared up at the starry sky, their breaths matching in the silent night.

“Let’s call it a draw.” Nabooru sleepily breathed.

Ganondorf chuckled but then coughed from the harsh sound. Their hands slowly found each other and habitually locked together. It was a sensation that Ganondorf had missed ever since he left the compound. They lay like this for a long time, only the sounds of patrolling guards in the distance to keep them company. Finally, Ganondorf forced himself up and tried to shake Nabooru awake as she had fallen asleep next to him. He ended up grabbing their things and, using magic to keep himself upright, he carried Nabooru to her room. Thankfully, her roommates were just as tired from their fight and didn’t stir when he placed the woman’s limp body on the bed. After a final look at the woman he couldn’t live without, he retired to his own quarters and buckled into the waiting sheets.


	5. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rushing Rila and the upcoming ceremony.

As Ganondorf walked out of the education room, he felt as if his face was glowing a bright red. It wasn’t the fact that a Gerudo model was used, Ganondorf had bathed with nude women all his life, and it wasn’t even their using him as “a rare opportunity to glimpse the male form”, as the instructor put it. He was more than happy to be the center of attention for the moment. It occurred after the class when he finally realized what the true meaning behind Nabooru’s comment concerning him bunking with her instead of her current roommates. Now whether or not she was serious about her comment was entirely unknown, but it was that uncertainty that made his face glow brighter than hot steel.

Ganondorf didn’t really have much time to dwell on the prospect as he saw his mother walking uncharacteristically fast down the hall towards him. There was urgency in her loud footsteps and panic had set into the lines in her face.

“Mom, what’s-” Ganondorf could barely speak before Rila grabbed his arm as she rushed past. They zipped past crowds of Gerudo going in every direction, weaving in and out of the cluttered hallways.

“No time to dither about Ganondorf, we have to get you ready for this ceremony before anyone can take actions to delay or cancel it. We have to get the scroll from the archives, go to my room for your garb, and go to the western entrance where I’ve sent one of my friends to bring the ceremonial weapons. Then, if all goes well, we can do a quick recital then-”

“Mom!” Ganondorf cut her off while still keeping pace alongside her, “Everything is going to be fine. Why are you so panicked?”

Rila took a slightly less frantic breath and slowed her pace a tad as she adopted a hushed tone, “I received word that Naberna may be planning to undermine the festivities. The sooner we get everything together, the less Naberna can mess up.”

Ganondorf reciprocated the quieted volume, “You have sisters spying on Naberna?”

“My son, once you are king I will explain the delicate nature of Gerudo politics but, until then, I just need you to trust me.”

“Because I have a choice, right?”

“With the sharpness of wisdom comes to sharpness of tongue.” Rila said under her breath, “Just follow.”

Coming up to the archive room, Rila and Ganondorf immediately realized something was off. The door was ajar, suggesting that either the person last in there was in a hurry to leave the area or didn’t care enough to close the door all the way. Though nothing could’ve prepared them for the shock of seeing the inside of the room.

The opening of the door scattered loose scrolls from its arc as the two walked into the disheveled archive room. Entire shelves of scrolls were knocked to the floor and even some cabinets were pushed over, their insides of Gerudo law and culture spilled carelessly onto the ground. Some scrolls were left where they fell but some were opened on the floor and a few others were thrown across the room, probably in an effort to distract from what whoever did this ransacked the room for.

“Sands beyond.” Rila gasped in horror and shock.

Ganondorf was no less appalled by the scene before him and stood blinking incredulously as if the illusion would end if his eyes re-adjusted.

“Who could’ve done this?” Ganondorf asked as his thoughts pieced themselves together. But Ganondorf didn’t get an answer. He didn’t really need one as he knew the name as the question formed entered his head. Before Ganondorf could ask what her next move was, Rila had already peeled around, grabbed his arm, and began rushing off in the opposite direction of the archive. Her speed seemed to have doubled as they now ran through crowds of Gerudo in the hallways instead of around them.

“We have to hurry to my quarters. Naberna will hit the armory next.”

“Why your room?”

“Because your mother is smarter than Naberna. Always remember that.”

As they rounded a corner and saw Rila’s room, Ganondorf could feel his mother’s sigh of relief in her grip on his arm. The curtains were completely drawn and there was no person in sight around the entrance. When they came to the curtains, Rila immediately checked a side of the cloth that was lightly tucked into a wide gap in the rock of the entrance.

“We are ahead of her. Nobody’s checked my room.”

“How do you know?”

“If anyone went into this room the cloth would’ve fallen out of this crack in the frame. Come, we don’t have much time until she realizes what I’ve done.”

Walking into the room, Rila made straight for a chair in the corner and hurriedly pushed the bed out of the way with it. When she set the chair down she jumped on top of it and started feeling the ceiling. A few tense seconds and a hidden panel clicked under her hands. She pushed and, with surprisingly little effort, a door made to look like the ceiling went up on hinges. When the hidden door was fully inside the compartment, Rila jumped to grab the ledge of the hole and pulled herself up into it.

“Ganondorf!” Rila called from the darkness, “I need a light in here!”

Rila’s son quickly ran to grab one of the lanterns and stood on the chair to hand it to his mother. Her hand momentarily poked out of the darkness to grab the handle of the lantern before taking the light into the hidden space. As Ganondorf stepped down from the chair he heard a strange and muffled clanking coming from the hole.

“Ganondorf, honey,” Rila called from the hidden area, “You’re going to have to catch some things, alright? Be ready.”

Ganondorf got into position and called to Rila, “Ready!”

The first thing that came down to him was a helmet within a cloth sack. As much as he wanted to look at the piece itself, Ganondorf heard more things sliding across the floor of the hidden room. So he set the helmet aside and readied for another drop. The next package that fell from the opening clinked loudly as if it were chain mail. Falling into his arms Ganondorf felt seven pieces of armor connected by pieces of cloth and metal. Three more bundles followed after containing shoes, gauntlets, and padding.

Rila dangled her feet outside the hole before dropping to the floor with the last package in her arms. The last bundle in her arms made her grunt with exertion as it looked very heavy. Even with the weight in her arms already she still stooped down and picked up as much as she could carry and motioned for Ganondorf to do the same. Once they were laden with armor, Rila led Ganondorf back to the entrance to her room.

“Now we make it to the western entrance. Follow closely.”

Again, Rila led Ganondorf through the maze of halls and corridors only this time Rila wasn’t holding her son’s hand and the halls were eerily empty. It was a stark contrast to the full bustle they were charging through moments before. Rila’s route to the forward entrance was not a well-travelled one but there would’ve been at least somebody in the compound. The two exited the inner area and used an almost untraveled hallway that led to the western entrance. When Rila finally stopped rushing she immediately set to work unwrapping the pieces of armor and laying them down on their wrappings while motioning for Ganondorf to do the same.

With the armor out of its coverings, Ganondorf was able to marvel at the exquisite craftsmanship. The helmet was engraved the whole way around the face with Gerudo lettering and had a large plume of blood-red tassels that hung off the back like hair. The gauntlets were made with tiers of scaled steel on the top and lined with high grade leather all around. The chest piece was sculpted to fit a man’s physique and had the Gerudo symbol emblazoned on it in gold and copper. The lower body armor that covered his pelvic region and his legs was really seven pieces joined together with chainmail and more leather. The pieces were a codpiece, two thigh protectors, two knee guards, and two foreleg covers all made of interlocking and interweaved gold and steel. The greaves were little more than copper shoes that locked the wearers feet into place.

But the most striking of the armor was the shoulder guards. Two stone spaulders, connected by heavy steel reinforcement to even the load on the back, made the bulk of the armor’s weight. They had a small bit of gold inlaid into the stone forming the Gerudo symbol, but the entire shoulder was made of rock thicker than Ganondorf’s thumb. Everything was adjustable with sliding metal sizers and untied straps and the armor itself was polished to an unnatural shine.

As the two finished laying out the armor in the order that Ganondorf was to put them on, a woman burst through the doorway holding a long sack with sword hilts poking out at one end.

“Rila!” the woman gasped between breaths.

“Chetana!” Ganondorf’s Mother shouted excitedly, “And you have the swords!”

Before Chetana could catch her breath, Rila ran to her friend and ensnared her in a tight embrace.

“Thank the goddess you’re swift.” Rila sighed with relief.

“There wasn’t too much trouble”

Rila’s embrace ended as suddenly as it began and she led Chetana to the armor on the floor, “You help Ganondorf into his ceremonial armor and I’ll go get ready myself.”

“You’re not staying?” Ganondorf protested.

“I am the mother to the prince. I get my own special garb and everything. You’ll be fine, I’ll see you before the ceremony to go over your lines and motions with Chetana, alright?”

Ganondorf was apprehensive but ultimately nodded as if he had a choice in the matter.

Rila smiled her warm inviting smile, “I love you, my son.”

And with a swish of her ponytail she disappeared down the hallway towards the compounds inner entrance.

“Alright Ganondorf,” Chetana clapped her hands and rubbed them together, “Let’s get this armor on you. We’ve got ‘til sundown before the ceremony can-”

“Wait,” Ganondorf cut her off, “Sundown?! Isn’t it noon right now?”

“A little after but yes. The armor is more complex than it looks. It will take some time for it to be put on and for you to get used to its unique weight distribution. Then, we practice the ceremony until you can do it in your sleep. _Then_ , goddess willing, you become the new king after the ceremony commences flawlessly. I’ve got instructions here so how about start at step one?”

Ganondorf groaned and walked over to Chetana who produced a scroll from her pocket and began looking over the armor and muttering to herself. Hopefully all this fuss was worth it.


	6. The Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He will be king?

Ganondorf could tell by the feel of the armor that it was extremely old metal. Usually relics of this age were imbued with very old and very strong magic, as was the case with his soul gem and the spirit medallion. The ceremonial armor, however, didn’t have a single trace of magic inside it, save for the innate magic in all things. No magic was used to construct it, no magic was used to enhance it, no magic was used to alter it, and yet the metal was no heavier than his own skin, the straps and slides formed to his body as if it were made for him, and the helmet fit around his soul gem with the slightest of gaps.

“This is old armor, huh?” Ganondorf marveled.

“Older than even the Allmother.” Chetana chuckled, “You want to hear the story behind it?”

“There’s a story behind it?”

“The Allmother told it to me not too long ago. I’ll tell you once we get it all on.”

Twelve tied straps, seven clasps, and a stubborn codpiece later, Ganondorf was locked into his armor. Chetana sat him on a nearby stool as she elected to sit on the floor. Ganondorf thought this was strange as she was the one telling the story, but she insisted.

“You remember the story of Din, yes?” Chetana began.

“The first Gerudo king, yes.”

“Well, legend has it that Din lived long enough to see the birth of his first and only son. When this prince passed the trials, Din knew his time on earth was shortening so he set to work on a set of armor to celebrate the new king. Using the brightest gold, the finest silver, and the strongest steel, Din made the armor you wear today. With only his hands as tools, Dins fingers took on the glint of metal and his arms turned as black as the hearths coals. But when it was time to crown the new king, Din found that the prince had grown to be selfish, angry, and vengeful.

So, Din melt down the steel spaulders and instead crafted a pair of shoulder guards made of the densest solid rock he could find; the same rock that our temple to the sand goddess is made of. Din gave his son the armor and forced him to wear the stone spaulders as a reminder of the burden he carried as king of the Gerudo. Din’s heir, the new king, learned a valuable lesson and he continued to wear those stone shoulders even after the ceremony. And when he outgrew those ones he made himself bigger and heavier ones. Not just in honor of his deceased predecessor, but as a constant reminder of his responsibilities.”

Ganondorf looked down at the armor on his body with a newfound respect. But one thing still nagged at his curiosity.

“What about the swords?” Ganondorf motioned to the three blades and two daggers on the floor next to the spaulders.

“Those were made even before the armor. It is said that they were made by the three thieves themselves as an offering to the sand goddess. The gilded sword was made by Nyru and meant to signify the value of the Gerudo people. The layered one with dunes in the steel was made by Din to show the strength of the Gerudo.

And the rusted blade that still holds an edge was made by Farore. It is the oldest and most sacred part of your ceremony but is maintained in its dilapidated state to signify the fragility of our position in the desert. That we do not own the desert, we are part of it. It also teaches humility as the blade may not gleam in the light but the edge is sharp enough to slice the air itself. Finally, those daggers are merits of your accomplishments so no one can doubt that you are qualified to be a king of our people.”

“No one except Naberna.” Ganondorf said under his breath.

Chetana clicked her tongue against her teeth and waved her hand dismissively, “She is but a chapter in your life. Do you think she’s the only one who will oppose you? There are three people on the counsel table, twenty decorated lieutenants and generals, and over two hundred Gerudo in this compound. And each and every one of them will have ideas better than yours.”

As Chetana stood, Ganondorf felt a huge weight press down on his shoulders even though the stone spaulders were right in front of him. He leaned on his knees and stared at the floor intensely. It finally donned on him exactly how much was dependent on him as king and, for the first time in his life, he was hoping someone would mess things up. _Maybe… maybe I’m not ready to be king after all._

\------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ganondorf _hated_ waiting. The idea of things out of his control happening where he wasn’t while he sat around being worse than useless drove him insane. Soon he would start tapping his fingers, shuffling his feet, pacing, all in an effort to just pass the millennia he had to wait. His mother called them “the fidgets” and referred to his inability to be patient a blessing and a curse. Waiting to see the doctor, fidgeting. Waiting for rations of food and water, fidgeting. Waiting for his mother’s sister to give birth to his first real cousin, fidgeting. Even now, waiting for his mother to come back and the ceremony to begin, he couldn’t help but fidget.

There was one part of his shoe that didn’t agree with being dragged across a certain section of the stone floor. It was the most tantalizing sound that stimulated his brain just enough that he almost forgot about the overbearing boredom that stifled the room. Chetana, however, found the repeated noise to be much less cathartic. Ganondorf stopped as soon as he looked up to find her piercing gaze upon him. But before he could apologize for his fidgeting a loud boom came from outside. It was as loud as thunder but only as harsh as the handmade drum that sounded it. The boom assaulted Ganondorf’s ears twice more before being followed by the unmistakable sound of many Gerudo spear shafts hitting the stone ground twice in quick succession. The pattern repeated itself, three drum booms followed by two spear shunts, as if war were right in the courtyard.

“It’s time.” Chetana said, suddenly right behind Ganondorf.

“What? No! Mother hasn’t come back yet. We have to wait for her!”

“She must’ve been caught up in something she couldn’t get out of. Either that or Naberna delayed her. In any case, that’s the call and you have to answer it.”

“But what about my lines? How do I know what to do?”

Chetana plopped the stone shoulder guards on Ganondorf’s neck and the weight caused him to stumble forward out of his seat.

“Don’t worry,” Chetana reassured, “I’m pretty sure you’ve got this. Rila wouldn’t have knowingly left you without a rehearsal if she didn’t think you could do it. Now go out there and claim that birthright!”

Chetana began to push Ganondorf towards the exit to the small enclosure. The boy protested the entire way but Chetana was stronger than he thought and gave him the final nudge out the doorway. When Ganondorf felt the sun’s waning rays on the back of his neck he turned around and immediately froze in place. The drum had stopped, the guards’ spears went still, and the crowd amassed in the middle of the courtyard, estimated to be over two hundred strong, all turned to face the armored prince. Looking at the giant crowd sent a chill down his spine and acid to the pit of his stomach. There were more Gerudo in the middle of the yard than he even knew existed. The congregation was filled with familiar faces but equally packed with strangers he’d never met in his life.

In front of the crowd, risen on the natural slope of the yard, were all the people he was to greet. Including his mother. When Ganondorf spotted her, he felt relief wash over his body but not enough to completely rid him of panic. He looked to his mother for direction as he shrugged and pleaded with his eyes as inconspicuously as he could. His mother, in return, motioned with her eyebrows and head to the left in a way that could only be described as “Move it!” Ganondorf turned to the left to see the way he had to go. The guards actually made the direction easy as their bodies bordered a path that he was to follow that went straight down one side of the crowd and then right up the divide in the center of it.

Ganondorf took a deep breath and made his first step forward. He should’ve guessed that the drum and spears would resume but the first beat still caught him off guard. His heart stopped for a second but he continued on walking towards the middle of the massive crowd. The beat, same as before, now matched his footsteps so Ganondorf tried his best to keep his pace at regular intervals. As he made his way towards the middle of the crowd, Ganondorf took fleeting glances at the women watching him march. Most of the audience he knew by name but every so often he’d see someone who was a complete stranger to him. They were all unmistakably Gerudo, red hair styled in many different ways, slim and toned bodies, and the multitude of soul gems they each had adorning their foreheads, but Ganondorf could swear he’d never seen them inside or around the compound before.

The drums and spears brought Ganondorf back from his thoughts as he turned the corner to walk down the center of the crowd. The thoroughfare was lined with more soldiers with spears who drew their swords as he began down the path. As the boy walked past each pair of guards they threw their swords at their feet onto the ground he’d just walked. It was meant to signify the enemies he would strike down and also the legacy he would leave behind. The steely clang they made resounded through the crowd.

Ganondorf finally completed the circuit and as he stepped out from the path the drum and spears hit one final beat together with all the guards shouting “HUAH” to punctuate the end of their percussion. Ganondorf, as he made his way to the Allmother on the left of the crowd, took note that his mother, continuing to look apologetic, was in the middle and Naberna, with her two general lackeys, were on the other end of the crowd looking as smug as ever. The Allmother had on a different shawl than her usual one that was colored orange and white with gold patterns woven into the fine fabric. When Ganondorf approached her, he expected a smile or a welcoming emotion to show on her face, but the Allmother’s expression remained as silent and cold as the rock she stood on. Even her opal soul gem seemed to reflect her inexpressive manner and was devoid of the shifting colors it usually had stuck inside it. Only when he was in front of her did he dare to speak.

“Good morning Allmother.” Ganondorf spoke as if it were a morning conversation.

The Allmother, unable to contain her underlying care for the child, smirked at the boy’s innocence and her soul gem glittered to life. “Louder honey,” she whispered back to him, “and don’t forget to bow.”

“Good morning, Allmother.” Ganondorf said loudly this time, filling the crowd with his voice and remembering to bow just in time.

“The sun rises on a new day my son.” the Allmother responded in a likewise volume, bowing as much as her aging frame would allow.

The Allmother nodded in approval when she straightened, giving Ganondorf the signal to move on. He turned from the Allmother and he looked at his mother in the middle of the stage. At this point Ganondorf forgot the order in which he was supposed to go. It looked like it was to be his mother as she was in the middle but he felt maybe that was wrong. Then his mother cocked her head slightly and Ganondorf remembered that his second stop was in front of the generals. And that included Naberna. The two other generals, Divya and Indu, looked as though they were cowering in the shadow of the feared Naberna despite being just as tall as her.

The effect only worsened as Ganondorf made his way past his mother and up to the generals. In fact, the woman seemed to grow in height as the prince drew closer; a growing tower of hatred only for him. When he stopped in front of her he realized the real height difference between them was only a few centimeters. If not for those few ticks the two would’ve been seeing eye-to-eye. This was just enough to give Ganondorf a small boost of morale. Finally, this tower of oppression was no longer a looming threat, but an obstacle only meant to be overcome.

Determination filling his chest, Ganondorf bowed to the generals and said the lines he had just remembered as he did with the Allmother.

“Good Afternoon, Generals.” He bellowed with hubris coating his voice.

When he straightened, he waited for the generals to return the gesture and follow with their lines, but none of them so much as twitched a muscle. Ganondorf waited under Naberna’s disapproving eye for a good long while; longer than he or anyone was comfortable with. The weights on his shoulders were starting to become painful to hold and the crowd started to have concerned whispers float through it like light winds.

Then Naberna, without bowing, inhaled to begin speaking.


End file.
